Episode 76 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello. Welcome to the show.

We've both been dealing in property for many years now

and have witnessed the fluctuations in the market.

But through it all, we remain convinced of one thing.

You can pick up some interesting buys at the auction.

We've always been really excited by the concept of buying at auction.

And it's true - the speed, the excitement

and the chance for a real bargain make it a thing to try.

So let's find out what got our buyers hot under the collar

on today's show.

This three-bed mid-terrace in Walthamstow

needs a sorcerer's touch to shine.

How are you going to work THAT into your budget?

My husband, he knows some magics.

Another mid-terrace in Stoke leaves me gobsmacked.

Oh...

And this barn in Cornwall, offers a touch of the tropical.

You've even got your own palm trees.

All I need now is a cocktail. Oh, thank you.

All these properties were bought at auction.

We find out who bought them and for how much

when they went under the hammer.

Well, I might be in east London today,

but this feels more like a village than part of a big metropolis.

Walthamstow's E17 postcode was once most famous

for the name of a popular 1990s boyband

with questionable taste in headgear.

Now, however, it's a desirable location to live,

with plenty of young families priced out of east and north London,

heading over to take advantage of its burgeoning cafe culture

and excellent tube links into town.

# It's all right

# It's all right

# It's all right

# It's really all right

# It's all... #

The property I'm here to see is more of a bus ride than a stroll

to the tube, but it's in a more affordable

part of the postcode. And I really like this little

turn of the road which means you've got off-street parking here.

The house itself is this three-bedroom terrace

and it had a guide price of £190,000.

And like this area, this 1950s, ex-local-authority property

looks all right too.

# ..It's all right

# It's all right

# It's all right... #

Ooh, now, interestingly, you've got a lot of space outside,

and you walk in, and it's a lot smaller than you would think.

It certainly needs an overhaul. Very dated indeed.

There's only one reception room on the downstairs floor

and a kitchen, again very disappointing

although it's quite a good size - almost the same size as next door.

What's round here?

Oh, we've got a downstairs bathroom.

I'd like to think we could shift that upstairs and create more space.

Therefore you would be able to have a little dining area around here.

Hopefully, fingers crossed, we can do that.

# With a little luck

# With a little luck

# We could shake it up

# With a little luck

# Oh, yeah... #

Yes, this would benefit from a shake-up.

There's a back lobby, which is a sort of lean-to.

But if the bathroom was moved and it could all be knocked through,

this could make a fabulous space.

You might also consider opening up through into that living area.

That might be a step too far for some,

but having a living space separate from the kitchen

can be a good thing.

Either way, it's that old conundrum, to move the loo or not?

So let's investigate up here.

Well, there is a bedroom with a boiler there.

I think I'd try and relocate that.

Towards the back of the property here, yeah, a good-size double.

A really nice room.

And through here... Oh, oh, oh, oh. Yes, look.

..it's a bathroom. THAT is really good news.

And you can see all they've done is just pinched

a little of the bedroom through here.

I'm really pleased that's upstairs.

That means downstairs, you can get rid of that bathroom

and just completely go to town on that living space.

Well, that's great news.

The layout of the upstairs is just about an open-and-shut case.

There's no need to really do anything

other than upgrade and refurbish.

The space upstairs might be a bit compromised

because of the bathroom, but for families, it's living space

downstairs that can really make all the difference.

If there's somewhere for kids to play, well, all the better.

Well, if ever there was a reason to buy a property,

then this is it!

Look at the size of the garden! It's overgrown, but it's massive.

I think you get extra because you're on a bend in the road.

Whatever the reason, this is just fabulous. Am I going over the top?

Surely I have seen bigger gardens,

but on an ex-local-authority estate in London,

this is disproportionately big and a major, major selling point.

Yes, look, it goes on and on, and it's all for you!

Enough for your vegetable plot, your trampoline,

your mini football pitch. Just everything.

It's certainly enough space for an extension, should you want it.

So with plenty of scope for improvement inside and out,

it seems this house is brimming with possibilities.

A local estate agent came along to tell us

what she thought of this property - guided at £190,000.

This property is absolutely fantastic for expansion.

It's got a very good garden,

offering excellent potential

to extend to the rear and also into the loft.

I would certainly suggest by far doing a loft extension

to accommodate the first-floor bathroom into the third bedroom.

Mm, a loft extension.

So a chance to expand not just inside and outside but upwards too.

Before we get too carried away, there will be a ceiling on how much

you can increase the property's worth.

So, would doing all this work add up to a profit?

Keeping the existing layout to the first floor,

I would value this property in the region of £270,000.

By adding in a loft conversion to this property,

I would estimate the value to be in the region of £285,000.

By adding a rear extension to the property and a loft conversion,

I would estimate the value to be in the region of £300,000.

So after you've factored in build costs,

neither extension would add greatly to your potential profit margin.

It just makes a nice home to live in.

But what about rental potential?

The property with its current layout would rent

in the region of £1,200 per calendar month.

The property with an extended layout and a loft conversion would rent

in the region of £1,300 to £1,400 per calendar month.

So a good value family home in a decent area

increasing in popularity, with an outstanding garden.

Let's see who went for it at the auction.

To lot 20. A three-bed, mid-terraced house

not far from Walthamstow town.

190 anywhere?

190? 190 straightaway at the back.

195.

200. 205. 210.

215. 220.

225. 230. 235.

240.

241.

242. 243?

You must do.

You'll regret it. 243?

242, on my right at the back.

243 elsewhere?

If not, 242 first time. Second time.

Third and last time. If you're all done...

-GAVEL BANGS

-Sold - 242 at the back. Well done.

Wow! For £52,000 over the guide price,

for £242,000, the new owners of the three-bed house in Walthamstow

are married couple Kristina and Agris.

Originally from Estonia, Agris is a plumber,

and Kristina is a beauty therapist.

She is on maternity leave after the arrival of their first child,

eight-month-old baby Albert.

While Agris kept an eye on Albert, I caught up with Kristina

to find out about their plans for their new purchase.

-Kristina, congratulations.

-Thank you.

So tell me all about the story,

which has led you up to the sale of this property.

We had another house which we refurbished. We sold it a year ago.

So where have you been living for the last year,

if you sold it a year ago?

We are just renting at the moment. Just in the area.

-So did you view this prior to auction?

-We've seen it just once.

In my mind, it was a bit different.

Ah, so what's it like now you've seen it again?

A little bit disappointed? Is it better than you expect?

I'm happy that, for example, we can extend 6m

on the ground floor of the house, because we have a very big garden.

So we have this very good opportunity.

So they are planning to extend.

Well, there is certainly room, and I can see why you'd want to,

since it's going to be their family home.

So what else are they planning to do down here to improve the space?

First of all, we're going to remove the bathroom downstairs,

and basically it's going to be all open space.

All going to be open plan?

-Yeah.

-Tell me what you'll do upstairs.

How are you going to change the space?

There is a bathroom, but it's just inside the room,

so basically, we'll remove it and make the room bigger.

So we'll put the bathroom where the little room is.

So we're going to make, instead of three rooms,

we'll make two rooms and a bathroom.

So basically we need one more room

to make this house like a family house.

So we're going to put it upstairs to the loft.

And it's going to be a third room, like maybe a master bedroom upstairs.

So what sort of budget are you looking at for the work?

Oh, about 30 or 40.

30 to 40,000?

They're quite expensive, loft conversions.

How are you going to work THAT into your budget?

My husband he knows some magics.

He knows some magics? I love that!

So he's got some sneaky people in the trade that he knows a well.

-Yeah.

-That always helps.

# Magic

# It's a kind of magic... #

LUCY CHUCKLES

Magic Agris and his friends in the trade.

Well, that makes the budget

and the plans sound a little bit more feasible.

They have a timescale of three to four months,

during which Kristina might skip off back to Estonia

with little Albert to escape the dust and the mess.

Yes, sensible woman.

I do have one worry, though - they did pay 52 grand over the guide price.

Add another £40,000 for renovations.

Well, then, that would make their total investment go up to £282,000!

Do you think this house will be worth it at the end of the day?

I mean, there is a ceiling price on a property like this.

I'm sure it will. I'm sure. We're going to do it for us firstly

and we're going to put everything what we like.

So you think if you like it so much,

EVERYONE will like it so much?

-Yes.

-Kristina, it's been lovely meeting you.

-Good luck with this project.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

So, a family home for Kristina, Agris and lovely little Albert.

I am so pleased for them.

And I'm sure they will turn it into a wonderful house.

You can find out how it goes later in the show.

Well, from that endless back garden to even more fantastic green spaces.

To the north-east of Stoke city centre is Sneyd Green,

a popular residential area close to Hanley.

It's named after the Sneyd family, prominent local landowners.

And look at this peaceful, rural scene.

Central Forest Park is a large nature reserve

which was created here in the 1970s.

It's on the site of a former coal heap

and has become a beautiful local feature

that has attracted wildlife and property buyers to the area

for years.

Well, I am close to Central Forest Park,

which makes this a really popular area for rentals

and also first-time buyers.

I'm here to see a mid-terrace very traditional property.

Two bedrooms.

Had a guide price of £45,000 plus.

What's it like inside?

Let's take a look.

Oh, looks all right at first glance.

Into your front sitting room.

Very traditional kind of layout.

Set for a dinner party no less!

And nicely decorated, fairly modernish wallpaper.

Dated fireplace.

Through to your rear sitting area.

Oh, dear.

First thing that strikes you when you come in here

is some pretty nasty signs of damp.

We'll come back to that. In terms of the room, though,

it's a nice size.

Lots of light coming in through the windows, so we like that.

Another classic fireplace!

Pretty traditional design, as you might have imagined.

The kitchen...

basically built in to an extension on the back, here.

Not in bad condition, though.

Although I think it'd be worth spending a bit of money.

And then bathroom at the end.

Very traditional sort of layout for this kind of property.

Bathroom actually not in bad condition.

So all in all, it's a good house.

This place was recently tenanted

and it wouldn't need too much tweaking

to get it back on the rental market.

Hold on, though, not everything about this place

is looking quite so rosy.

Now, what's interesting about this particular damp

is that it's on some very strange walls.

You would normally expect damp on the exterior walls of the property,

basically water coming in.

This one, right, which is really damp,

is an internal wall.

And that one there is the wall

that joins onto the neighbouring property.

So...

My guess...

is it's coming down rather than through.

Let's have a look.

Any clues in here?

Cupboards, always a good place to check.

And, wow, yes!

Right, well, you can actually see right up into the loft space there,

and, sure enough, there's daylight.

That's never good!

Water is coming in, going dribble, dribble, dribble downstairs,

on this wall.

There's your problem. Probably cost...

not very much to sort out.

He says hopefully!

# I never cared much for moonlit skies

# I never winked back at fireflies

# But now that the stars are in your eyes

# I'm beginning to see the light. #

Hmm, so I'm seeing the light as to why this property

was guided at the relatively low price for the area

of £45,000 plus.

Reroofing and tackling the damp can be expensive and time-consuming.

And there's also uncertainty

of what long-term damage might have been done.

On the plus side, the two bedrooms are a decent size

and appear to be in a very serviceable condition.

At the back of the property, a good bonus,

rear access along this little lane here,

complete with original cobbles, which is cute.

While I'm out here, a chance to see that there's a little patio area,

which is quite nice, but also an opportunity to look at the roof.

Not only have you got that hole,

it looks like the roof itself is in a bit of a poor state.

Thankfully, the same isn't true of the extension,

which looks to be in much better condition.

But it obviously is going to be a lot more modern.

So, all in all, a bit of remedial work to be done

and it needs to be done quick.

# Get your back up off the wall

# Come on

# Get down on it

# Come on and get down on it

# If you really want it Get down on it

# You got to feel it... #

Yes, a little speed is needed to get this house watertight again.

And along with the work on the roof,

not all the windows are double glazed,

so a few of those will need doing as well.

But once that's done, and that pesky damp is sorted,

really this is a straightforward refurbishment

that can be turned around relatively quickly.

But what does a local property expert make

of this two-bed terraced house?

First impressions are

that it's really mainly cosmetic improvements that are required.

The only other obvious things are there are some signs of damp

which should be investigated further.

And we do have a bathroom which leads straight from the kitchen,

which isn't ideal.

The layout may not be ideal,

but it's pretty conventional for these types of houses.

So, as it stands, what is the best way to maximise profit

on a house that was guided at £45,000 plus?

I think a new kitchen, a new bathroom, possibly fireplaces,

really to appeal to that first-time buyer market.

After those required works are done,

I would anticipate a resale value in the region of £70,000.

And rental values?

I would anticipate a maximum rental income

in the region of £450 per calendar month.

Well, it's a nice enough house in a good rental area.

And apart from the damp, not much to do to get it rental ready.

Let's see who went for it when it went under the hammer.

It was near the end of the auction

that the two-bed terrace house went up for sale.

Lot 96. Guiding in at 45.

Shall we start this one at 40?

40 bid. Thank you. At £40,000.

41, 41 bid. 41, 42?

42, 43.

44? 44. 45 seated, at 45 seated.

New bidder, 46.

47? 47.

48? 48.

49?

49. 50?

Half. 49.5.

50?

50. Another half? 50.5?

No? £50,500, then. Seated left at £50,500.

£50,500 once. £50,500 twice.

Third and final time, £50,500.

You bought it, well done.

And sneaking in near the end there,

the successful bid of £50,500 was made by local

self-employed business consultant David, who hopes

this traditional mid-terrace will stoke his growing rental portfolio.

-David, very good to meet you.

-Likewise, Martin.

-Congratulations.

-Is this something you've done before?

-It's the third one.

-How have the other two gone?

-Very well, actually.

More by luck than by judgment, I think, but yes.

What attracted you to this particular house?

When I came into it,

because I'd viewed all the houses that we'd bought at auction,

I think that's really important,

this one I thought needed not a lot doing to it.

It's something that can be refurbished,

I can do some of the work myself. And it would be good to go.

-Has it turned out as you imagined?

-Not exactly.

At the point at which, in trying to get a mortgage for the house,

the surveyor came in and said we needed to get a damp survey done.

It was something I didn't expect.

The process then of when that happened was

you'd been to the auction, the hammer had gone down,

you've exchanged contracts, committed to buy it and then

you get a mortgage survey, which is the one the way a lot of people do.

-Yes.

-And that highlighted a problem.

-Yes.

-So where does that leave you?

It delayed the mortgage, which cost us money in the end,

because we went beyond the 28 days from...

Yes, I'm afraid so.

The reason I'm so horrified is

that most auction houses give you 28 days to complete

the purchase or you could be liable to stiff penalties.

Remember, when the hammer goes down, there's no going back.

You have bought it.

I'd have to say, that was a learn, because in previous houses,

I'd thought that if that happened, it was the end of the world.

It wasn't the end of the world, but...when the clock stops ticking, as it were,

then it starts to cost money.

And how many days late were you?

-In the end, we were five days late.

-And how much did that cost?

-It cost us £150. I think we were quite fortunate.

-Wow.

-What was that for?

-That was for serving a notice to complete

and interest on the outstanding balance.

Right, wow. So it could have been a lot worse.

Yes, and had the mortgage company not released the money at that point,

we'd have had a big problem.

What's the deal on the damp-proofing?

The deal on the damp-proof is within three months,

I have to correct it all with a certified and ensured guarantee.

Well, that was a little bit too tight for comfort.

Potentially, David could have lost the house

and his deposit for failing to meet the 28-day deadline.

I imagine there were a few sleepless nights

and a lot of stress.

But he's all sorted now

and he can move forward on property number three.

What are you going to do to the house?

Well, some of that depends on what needs doing for the damp course,

but the house is in pretty good condition.

It's pretty clean and decent.

The annoying thing is, it's going to cause a bit of a mess, isn't it?

Yes, it is, because if we have to take the plaster off

to a metre up the walls, then it means also getting

all the paper off the walls, which is a...bit of a surprise.

And hard work. Other than that, the kitchen will need a bit of work.

The bathroom has got new sanitary ware in it,

but it needs the decor sorting out.

Remedial works elsewhere? The roof, for instance.

The roof, yes, the surveyor pointed that out.

It wasn't a condition of the mortgage,

but we were asked to do that as soon as the house was completed on.

-So what's the budget?

-The budget is up to about £10,000.

-Does that include the damp?

-Including the damp and the roof.

So what is the timescale?

-I'd love to say, in four weeks' time, it's ready to rent.

-Wow!

-Including all the damp-proof and everything?

-Yes.

And that probably has affected it a bit for us.

So I would hope in two months' time from now, we'll have people in.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

A few hiccups along the way, but it looks like they are sorted.

-Hopefully. We'll find out, won't we?

-Good luck with it.

Thank you very much.

Well, David there, I think, having a very lucky escape.

And it just goes to show the importance of thoroughly

checking out a property before you bid at the auction,

especially if you're hoping to get a mortgage on it.

In terms of sorting it out, well, once he's got the damp sorted,

it should be plain sailing.

You can find out how he gets on later in the show.

Still to come, a Cornish barn needing a complete overhaul.

Perfect for someone with plenty of time on their hands.

-"Cornishmen do it dreckley."

-Yeah?

Well, it's a little bit slower in Spanish - manana.

It will get done eventually.

But back in Stoke, time has run out for David.

I've got to the point where I'm thinking,

"Oh, no, I need to be out of this place."

First, we're back in Walthamstow, east London,

where, earlier in the programme, we met Kristina,

her husband, Agris, and their little baby, Albert.

The couple, originally from Estonia,

had been living in rented accommodation

after selling their previous house, and this ex-local-authority house

is where they decided to create a new family home.

They paid 242,000, which was a whopping 52 grand over

the guide price.

The three-bed house needed a lot of vision,

but that is exactly what this couple have.

They planned an extension into the huge garden and a loft conversion,

but with so much spent on the house already,

I was a bit worried about how much they were planning to invest.

About 30 or 40.

-£30,000 to £40,000?

-Yes.

They're quite expensive, loft conversions,

how are you going to work that into your budget?

-My husband, he knows some magics!

-He knows some magics?

I love that,

so he's got some sneaky people in the trade that he knows very well?

-Yeah.

-That always helps.

Well, let's hope they're not from the Tommy Cooper school of magic,

cos on that budget, it was certainly going to take

some sleight of hand to pull this rabbit out the hat!

But as Kristina is a beauty therapist, and Agris a plumber,

maybe together they can give this place the make over it deserves

in a timescale of four months.

We came back to see what they'd achieved

just under five months later.

And while the front doesn't look any different, just have a look inside.

Firstly, the couple have taken advantage of that huge garden

and conjured up this fantastic new kitchen-diner!

They've also managed to turn that old downstairs bathroom

into a stylish, new and lovely shower room.

The dated lounge is now open and family-friendly.

And it's not only downstairs where Agris has managed

to wave a magic wand.

At the top of the house, a loft conversion means there is

a lovely, airy, master bedroom.

So, are they enjoying this fabulous new family home?

Oh, it's amazing, because now we have

just a lot of space for the baby as well to run around and a cat.

It is also easier for me to cook and just to do some stuff.

If the ground floor and new bedroom weren't spacious enough,

they've also done a bit of rejigging on the first floor.

They've turned the rear, smaller bedroom

into a good-looking family bathroom.

And the space once claimed by the old bathroom

has been added to the front bedroom.

With bedroom two also renovated,

all these changes mean the house still has three bedrooms,

but the flow and size of the rooms give the house an airy feel.

Now the garden. Nice job!

I personally was in a tent for a month, outside, in the garden!

And another builder the same,

but luckily, before the cold came, we already were ready to move in.

The garden with its deck is a good size, even with the extension,

that incidentally, didn't need planning permission

as the changes fell under permitted development regulations.

As planned, Kristina and baby Albert

hotfooted it to Estonia for a nice little break,

so they did avoid the dust and the nights under canvas.

I'm never a happy camper either, so I'm with Kristina on this one.

She helps me a lot with deciding what we're going to do

with this room, which I know how to do,

but I sometimes can't see the things that Kristina can see.

So she helps me out with design.

It's a great-looking home, and Agris

and his friends took only four months to do everything,

from the new extension to the loft conversion, plastering,

plumbing, new ceilings... in fact, everything!

Agris has certainly worked his magic on this place,

but did he work the same trickery on his £30,000 to £40,000 budget?

We spent around 35, we don't include my work -

electrician, plumbing, every night supplying materials.

Knowing how much work we did for this house and how much we spent...

I think some of that magic, maybe somebody can do better.

# Oh, oh, oh, it's magic You know

# Never believe it's not so... #

It's so relaxed that everything is just in the past

and now we need just to enjoy the house.

This is first and foremost a home and not for a quick resale,

and there is no doubt this is a lovely transformation.

If you add their 242,000 purchase price

to that £35,000 refurbishment cost,

it brings their total spend to 277,000.

Now, I think they've done well to do so much for that budget.

But what do two estate agents make of the couple's hard work?

I like the size of the rooms.

I do like the layout

and I think it's been renovated to a very high standard.

'I've looked around the property, it's got a fantastic aura about it,

'the way it flows, superb, one of the best properties I've seen

'for a little while in this price bracket.'

I think the real selling features of this property are actually

just the way it feels, which as soon as you walk in and walk around,

it's very airy, it creates a complete lifestyle feeling.

Agris and Kristina now have a lovely open-plan family home,

but if they do decide to move on, what sort of profit could they make

if they sold the house?

Remember, their total spend is 277,000.

I would resell the property,

the price in between £290,000 to £300,000.

This property could resell for around £350,000 in its present state.

These two very differing valuations mean that Agris and Kristina

could make a possible pre-tax profit of between

£13,000 to £73,000.

We made this house for ourselves, so it's just great to know that

we can sell with a profit,

but now we will stay and live - how long, we don't know.

It is so good to know that Agris's hard work and living under canvas

in a tent has been rewarded, but for this family,

the joy of this house doesn't have anything to do with money.

We still have to get used to ourselves that we have so much space

for ourselves and Albert, so it's just pleasing to us that we can give

him the things everybody has to have in their life, so very well pleased.

Today, I'm in Cornwall in St Day, about two miles from Redruth,

and what am I here to see? Well, it's a barn with land.

How much do you think that will cost around here? 200,000, 150,000?

Maybe 100,000? Nope, the guide price was 50,000 to 80,000 quid.

St Day is a pretty little village,

and the position behind the post office off the main street is handy.

So, that guide price would be good for nearly any plot and barn.

But this isn't just any old barn, it's a barn that comes

with full planning permission

for conversion into a two-bedroom dwelling.

Now, around here, something like that's going to sell for around

the £175,000-185,000 mark,

so suddenly THIS could be a bit of a money-spinner.

Well, at the moment, you'll have to use your imagination,

because what you've basically got is a shell.

But I love some of the original materials in here,

some of this old wood - it'd be great to have that

treated for woodworm or whatever, but keep it.

Similarly with these beams and all this stone.

The issues you're going to have?

Damp proofing, both on the floor and the walls,

services, such as electricity, gas, water.

Then the actual structure of the building, what's that like?

It seems pretty solid.

It's going to take a bit of effort,

but you could end up with something really, really special.

It does look a little snug down here,

but there is a second floor I can't access today,

so there's ample room for two bedrooms.

The plans even have space on the ground floor

for a downstairs loo,

which, I think, is a little ambitious.

I always like to see a practical downstairs loo,

but in a property this size,

I think I could manage to nip upstairs to the family bathroom.

So, cute and compact on the inside. What about the outside?

But the fun doesn't there - through this little gate

from the courtyard just in front of the barn here

leads you through to this fairly sizable garden, so that's good news.

It gets better, though, because there are two garages there

and planning permission has been granted.

It's only outline planning permission,

but planning permission nevertheless,

for the creation of another dwelling.

So suddenly,

this lot is looking incredibly potentially profitable indeed.

You've even got your own palm trees.

All I need now is a cocktail...

Oh, thank you.

(It's a milkshake.)

..and Club Tropicana playing in the background.

Perfect.

MUSIC: "Club Tropicana" by Wham!

Uh, before you go-go, it's reality check time.

It's all very well, sipping cocktails on the Cornish Riviera.

But they will have to wait.

There are a few issues you would need to ponder, like access

and getting building materials in, for one.

And there may be a party wall issue to sort out.

However, for a guide price of between £50,000-£80,000,

I think it makes a really interesting lot.

Does the agent who sold it rate the barn and the plans?

This is a fantastic dual component auction lot,

so it's really exciting.

One is a building plot, effectively,

for a two-, maybe three-bedroom detached house,

along with a rather attractive period barn

that's attached to the back of the post office.

Let's talk figures.

Two-bedroomed properties in St Day

will typically fetch between £165,000 and £185,000.

For a property in reasonable spec, you could expect

somewhere in the region of £750pcm for the rental.

Those numbers sound pretty encouraging, but don't forget,

although planning permission is in place for the barn,

you would still have to get detailed plans approved for the plot.

So it's never wise to assume

it would be entirely straightforward.

Let's see who went for this intriguing lot at the auction.

Lot 76.

Who's going to kick us off at 80? Straight in, 80?

Bottom end of the guide, 50. Two.

50, we're in. 50, we're away.

52. 54.

56. 58.

And 60. And a half.

And nine. And a half.

And 60. And a half.

And 61. And a half.

62. 62 and a half - or is that 63?

65 - straight in, 65. Burn you out completely.

At 65. 65, you're in, sir. Yellow shirt has it. You're in.

At 65 for the first time.

At 65 for the second.

At 65,000, third and final time.

Selling to you, sir, yellow shirt, at 65,000...

And out.

Congratulations.

That determined bidder who managed to get

the property for £65,000 is Jeff,

who also happens to be the postmaster for St Day.

-# Stop

-Oh, yes, wait a minute, Mr Postman

-# Wait

-Wait, Mr Postman... #

And Jeff may be more local than most,

because he owns the post office next door.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

Tell me why you wanted to buy this place, then?

We've got the property next door and, obviously, an advantage for us

is that fact that we can do what we like with the property

now that we don't have strangers coming in round the back

and we've got parking spaces as well.

I thought it'd have been absolutely essential for you to buy it.

It certainly was, but the barn has got a bit of a history with us

as well, because when my parents bought the property next door,

back in the '70s,

my father said, "What about the barn attached to it?"

And they said, "Well, the local shop is using it,

"so we can't include it with your deeds."

So Father said, "Well, OK.

"If anything comes of it in the future..."

And over the years, we've still tried to buy it from previous owners,

but the price was always too much.

But it's just happened it's come at the right time.

I imagine it would have been...gosh, sleepless nights,

if somebody else had bought it and decided to do whatever with it.

Yeah, the worry was that the barn

has got planning permission for a house,

with parking space outside.

The garden and garages have also got planning permission.

And at one time, they were proposing two houses in there.

And if we two houses, with the access and all the traffic,

I think it would have been all just too much for safety

and everything else.

Right, but you've managed to negate that buying it yourself.

That's right. At least we've got a bit more control over it now.

Jeff bided his time to get the barn, so presumably,

he's had a long time to think about

how he's going to put his stamp on it.

But before we find out his plans...

I've got to ask, what does your T-shirt mean?

-"Cornishmen do it dreckley?"

-Yeah.

Well, it's a little bit slower than Spanish manana.

It'll get done...eventually.

But my wife has another phrase that she likes to put on the end -

"Cornishmen do it dreckley, Cornishwomen want it done NOW."

THEY LAUGH

So it'll be interesting who gets their way.

It certainly will.

So, what are the plans?

My mother-in-law thinks it would nice to have an artist's studio upstairs,

and my wife was saying, "Why can't have we have a workshop downstairs

"for a local business or something?"

So I think, initially, we're going for putting the new roof on,

altering the heights of these ceilings,

so that there will be more room down here,

-and then see what the funds will allow us to do in the future.

-Right.

That's this building here, then.

What about the garages and the garden?

-It's a nice little garden there, too, isn't there?

-Yes.

The fact that that has also got planning permission on...

But again, I don't think that, for the access, it's very good.

But there's a neighbour who wants to buy it,

and he's got a couple of cars, that he can use the garages.

So that would be an answer, really,

to a big development happening in, really, a nice, small area.

-So you might sell it?

-Yes.

-Right.

Now, will you limit by putting a covenant on the sale,

what that person can do with the bit of land and those garages?

Would you stop them building that house?

-I can't see I can stop them.

-Yes, you can.

You can see it under the principle that you can't do it,

-put a covenant on it.

-Um...

That might affect how much I'll get for it.

It might, but on the other hand, if he ends up building houses there,

-you're back to square one.

-Yeah.

That might be something for the solicitor...

He's going to hate me, isn't he?

THEY LAUGH

I should leave the country!

All right, I'm off!

I hope Jeff gives this a lot of thought and takes legal advice.

Having waited all this time to get his hands on the plot, it would be a shame

to throw away the advantages and options this purchase gives him.

But whatever happens to the plot and the barn, be it a gallery,

workshop or a house, he's given himself 12 months to do the work.

So talk me through the numbers, then.

The whole lot cost us 65,000.

If things go ahead as I hope,

then I shall be spending a total of the same amount to do up this,

-using the proceeds from the other side...

-Right.

-To do this one up.

And at the end of the day,

a two-bedroom place would probably rent for, well, I'm hoping, 500.

But I'm a bit confused, because you got pressure from the family

to not convert it into something that people could live in.

You're talking about working space, workshops and galleries.

There's only the wife and the mother-in-law!

Oh, OK, then. I'm sure you'll get away with it, then.

But I might have to move in myself if they don't agree with it!

Well, listen, congratulations.

-Good luck with it, and I look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Thank you very much.

Well, it really was the obvious thing for Jeff to do,

to buy this particular auction lot.

I think you really would have regretted it had he not.

Although I am a little bit concerned about selling off parts of it so soon,

because once it's sold, you never know what somebody might do with it.

And of course,

there are the arguments that are in store between him and his family.

How will it all turn out? You can find out later in the show.

Renovating a property can be a very time-consuming undertaking.

Especially if things don't go according to plan.

So let's see if our buyers' dreams got off the drawing board.

Back now to Stoke-on-Trent and the suburb of Sneyd Green,

where earlier, we met David,

a self-employed business consultant from nearby Uttoxeter,

who brought this two-bedroom terraced house

at auction for £50,500.

He aimed to add it to two other properties in his fledgling

rental portfolio and anticipated that all the tiny interior

would need would be a quick refurb.

But he hadn't bargained for several damp problems throughout the house.

-Has it turned out pretty much as you imagined?

-Not exactly.

-Ah.

The point at which, in trying to get a mortgage for the house,

the surveyor came in and said that we need to get a damp survey done...

-was something I didn't expect.

-So where does that leave you?

It delayed the mortgage, which cost us money in the end,

because we went beyond the 28 days from... Yeah, I'm afraid so.

And I have to say, that was a learn, because in previous houses,

I thought that if that happened, it was the end of the world.

It wasn't the end of the world, but when the clock stops ticking,

as it were, it starts to cost money.

One of the advances of buying at auction is the turnaround.

Completing a contract when buying or selling a property

is normally 28 days, but David exceeded that by five days.

Fortunately, he didn't lose his deposit.

However, as it turns out, that wasn't the only hassle ahead.

He reckoned on a £12,000 budget and a two-month turnaround

to fix the problems, and to get his house on the rental market.

Three months later, we return to Sneyd Green.

There's a new front door, and inside, the front lounge

has been redecorated, with the original fireplace still intact.

And in the rear reception room, the fireplace has now gone,

and it seems the walls have been replastered.

In the extension, new kitchen units have been installed.

While at the rear, the bathroom has been re-tiled with the washbasin

repositioned, so everything on the ground floor is looking good.

But more importantly, it looks like

all those damp issues have been fixed, which did mean tackling

the problems from the top to the bottom of the house.

The tiles were no good on the roof, they just crumbled.

So all of the rear of the roof has now got new tiles

that had to be totally replaced.

But the other damp problem, some of it was coming from the ground

and some from the roof over the kitchen.

There is no lead flashing between the kitchen roof

and the wall of the house.

So the walls downstairs, some of them were wet because of that.

Not only was the water coming in from above,

a fair bit was coming up from beneath.

I mean, this room, took all of the plaster off the walls.

It had to be stripped right back. The whole height of the room.

This wall here had to be totally rebuilt,

there were about three layers of plasterboard.

When we took the plaster off from this corner, there was

basically no wall underneath it.

The bricks were totally crumbled and there was soot and rocks above them,

but as you can see, we've had that rebuilt, and it's all repaired.

And when it came to the kitchen,

it appears that old damp problem was still keen on making an appearance.

Everything in the kitchen has been replaced.

We had to rip out the old kitchen.

The door has been replaced, all new units.

And the particular challenge was this wall, which was sopping wet,

so it had to be stripped right back, damp-proof injected

and then reconstructed before we could put the kitchen in.

While the roof and ground floor have been getting the heavy treatment,

upstairs, the bedrooms have escaped any major work,

with just a fresh coat of paint applied to the walls and woodwork.

When David first decided to buy the property,

he didn't envisage the extent of the damp issues.

And he didn't envisage being a project manager either.

But when his original choice of project manager pulled out,

that's what happened.

But I had to do it.

I had to sit down and work out

when everything would be done - it was an interesting challenge.

Despite the problems, David sees this project

as being an important learning curve.

Apart from throwing himself into removing the plaster

and spending several days getting the house ready, he has also

built up a network of tradesmen, handy for future projects.

However, when it comes to this project, I think

he's glad it's over.

The biggest challenge for me has been the amount of time I've spent here.

And that's what's taken its toll, really.

I've got to the point where I'm thinking,

"Oh, no, I need to get out of this place."

Those delays sorting out the damp issues

have pushed his schedule up from two to three months.

But has it pushed up his budget?

Interestingly, my budget with my contingency was £12,000.

And I have pretty much spent every bit of it, but not gone over. As yet.

So from that point of view, I'm happy.

£12,000 on the button.

Add that of the purchase price of £50,500,

and David will have spent £62,500.

So will he get his money back?

Time to find out the thoughts of two local property experts.

I think the property has been done well throughout.

It's been replastered, new double glazing, new centre heating,

new kitchen, new bathroom.

It's ready for either resale or to get the property let out.

I think the finish to the kitchen and bathroom have been done well.

Certainly, the standard has been done good throughout.

David plans to let this out,

so what sort of rental returns could he expect?

I'd suggest the rental price would be around £395 per calendar month.

I'd place this onto the market

at somewhere around £400 per calendar month.

That's about what I expected. It's less than I initially thought.

Those valuations could give David a healthy annual yield of 7.5%,

but would the resale values persuade him to change his mind?

I'd place this onto the market at £69,950.

In today's market,

I'd suggest the asking price should be set around £70,000.

£70,000 is reassuring.

Of course, whether you get that on the market is another thing,

but I'm not planning to sell anyway.

If those valuations remain the same, then that small profit

of around £7,500 minus the usual taxes and fees will

soon be outstripped by the possible rental returns in under two years.

So I reckon David has chosen the right route

to earning a profit on his house.

And hopefully it will go some way to giving him

a happier feeling about his experience here.

It's not been a stunning project, it's not worked out quite how I would

have wanted it to.

Lot of learning, this time, which is good - that helps for the next one.

Earlier we were in Cornwall

and the little village of St Day near Redruth,

where, tucked behind the main road, lay this exciting opportunity.

It was this barn that came with planning permission

for conversion into a two-bedroomed house,

and with it the garages and land which also had permission for

a separate house to be built. Getting this all for £65,000 was Jeff

who also owns the property next door where he is the local postmaster.

He's been eyeing up the barn for some time but now he's got it

something tells me the delivery of this particular package

might not be express.

Got to ask - what does your T-shirt mean?

-Cornishmen do it dreckley.

-Yeah.

-Well, it's a little bit slower

than Spanish manana. It will get done eventually.

MARTIN LAUGHS

But me wife has another phrase that she likes to put on the end,

"Cornishmen do it dreckley, Cornishwomen want it done NOW!"

LAUGHTER

Jeff reckoned another 12-month turnaround and a budget of £65,000

for the conversion, but it seems there was something to that dreckley

motto because it was 18 months later that we returned to the barn.

So, was it worth the wait?

What a barnstorming transformation. The question is -

after all the different ideas from Jeff, his wife

and his wife's mother on what the barn should be converted into

is it a gallery, is it a workshop, is it a home?

Well, while the existing window has been filled in on the first floor,

two new windows have been added giving a hint to the biggest

change here.

A great-looking kitchen/lounge.

Well, upstairs was just a wide open space.

And we've kept it like that, really, we put the kitchen in this side

with a living accommodation over there

and also we've got a lovely door leading to the steps,

cos you can open it like a stable door,

and I think that's the best thing about what's happened to the barn

is the character and hopefully somebody will be happy

to live here for the future.

And with new granite steps leading up to the kitchen door this

massive room really functions now as the main reception area

but as you can guess from the layout so far Jeff has gone for the

upside-down approach.

Downstairs we've put the two bedrooms - this is

a double bedroom. We've got the stairs in the centre

and the other bedroom at the end underneath the kitchen.

The main reason for that was that there isn't very much of a view

and being downstairs they only use it to go to bed so you're

pulling the curtains so it just makes sense that you aren't

going to miss out on a view that you can get from upstairs.

With the shower room also down here and with tenants lined up

Jeff and his wife finally decided that letting the barn out for

residential use was the best way for this place to pay for itself.

But before Jeff could even start the renovation he needed to raise

the money for the work.

It's unfortunate I had to sell the garages

and the land because that's a separate building.

It had to go cos I couldn't afford to do this financially

without selling on that part.

Jeff didn't take my advice on putting a covenant on the land

preventing any future building but he had to balance that up

with the price he negotiated for the land.

There was further time-consuming negotiation to deal with

as it turned out that there was a hiccup with the existing plans.

The barn was five feet shorter than the drawings indicated

and then there were building regulations to contend with.

Even though the walls are three-foot thick we still,

because of new building regulations we had to put extra insulation on

the inside.

Which, of course, made the inside a little bit smaller again

so we've had a few issues with the whole thing but, erm,

very pleased with the way it's turned out so far.

Jeff saved some valuable space by using underfloor heating

instead of radiators.

He used local builders to do the conversion, from installing

a new roof to insulating the walls and everything in between.

All told, after all the delays the actual renovation only

took five months but Jeff still feels he managed to live up

to the dreckley motto.

Yeah, I think when you go into building

you need to build in an extra 10 to 20% of everything - time,

materials and labour. I should have done that at the beginning really!

HE CHUCKLES

And when it comes to money, Jeff bought the barn, garages

and land for £65,000,

reckoning it would cost as much again to renovate just the barn.

Well, he managed to get it done for £60,000 which

would take his total spend to £125,000.

I think really it's a form of achievement

rather than the value because we don't expect to sell it,

instead we've got something I would look back and say -

"That was a good job."

But with that spend at 125,000 will the barn prove to be

a good investment?

Time to find out the thoughts of two local property experts

and we start with the auctioneer who sold the property to Jeff.

It's a bit unconventional in the fact that the gentleman has

converted it in the sense it's a topsy-turvy house.

You've got the living accommodation upstairs and, of course,

sleeping accommodation downstairs. Not everyone's cup of tea but it's different.

Obviously, not going to suit everybody with the style of it

but very quirky and tucked away from the main road in the village.

Jeff had spent £125,000 buying and doing up the barn

and though it's bound for the rental market what could he get

if he sold the property on?

This property should achieve on the open market

somewhere in the region of £160-165,000.

I would market it at an asking price of £150,000

with a view to achieving somewhere around the region of £145,000.

I think that's amazing, really. I didn't think it was going to be

anything like it.

I thought it was going to be more 110 or 120.

Well, no wonder he's happy because with those valuations

selling the barn could give him a pre-tax profit of between

£20,000 and £40,000. Of course, that's not taking into account

what he made from the sale of the land.

So, is it good news too on the rental figures?

On the rental market the property could achieve

somewhere in the region of £650 to £700 per calendar month.

Approximately £650 per calendar month.

I was thinking originally about 500.

But 650 is, er, very nice.

Well, Jeff already has tenants lined up but if he went for those

possible rental figures then he could achieve a healthy annual

yield of between 6 and 7%.

It may have taken longer than he'd thought to get to this stage

but Jeff is pleased and proud of the final result.

But was it enjoyable enough to make him contemplate another project?

My wife and I haven't come to blows over it

but we've had various discussions...

Er, as to doing something else I think she's put the kibosh on that

for the time being!

Erm, I think this was a one-off, er...but we'll wait and see.

Well, that's it for today's show but join us next time

when we'll have more tales from the front line of property developing.

So, make sure you join us then for more Homes Under The Hammer.

Goodbye for now.